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Transit Times - What is Normal?

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Posted 11/16/2009 10:04 AM (GMT -8)
It seems that I have differing transit times and not based on the regular diet or certain foods that I eat.  They are all over the place.  I have an Illeostomy and sometimes it is an hour and sometimes 4-6 hours or more.  Is there a normal?

love to all here

bob

Posted 11/16/2009 10:27 AM (GMT -8)
Schrek,
I don't think there is a normal for us. Mine seems to process after eating but sometimes it is a fast progression and sometimes slow. I do believe it has more to do with what we are processing/eating that determines how fast it goes through. I'd like to be able to empty around 10 pm or before I turn in for the night and sometimes that is a good thing and works and the next day it won't. It is a crazy digestive process right?
Cathy
Posted 11/16/2009 12:34 PM (GMT -8)
Yeah mine is different too. Sometimes its like 45 minutes, and then sometimes its hours. usually though, within an hour of half after eating i have to change. But what i have yet to understand is how no matter how long it is has been, i always have tons of output first thign in the morning!
Its so strange, lol.
Posted 11/16/2009 2:23 PM (GMT -8)

Me too, I output a lot in the AM before I eat - which I don't understand because I am supposed to change my appliance first  thing in the morning when I wake up - supposedly when there is little output.  Often, it takes me so much longer as I am cleaning and recleaning myself from stoma output when I am applying adhesive remover and skin prep, or powder.  I know that volume of food is an indicator - but not allways.  I am searching for a pattern I can rely on and can't seem to find one.  I feel like I have tried to explain this to my WOC nurse and my surgeon, and they both seem to put the question off saying that I am still a newbie at 7 months post surgery.  I find that not really an answer - or is the answer that over years a pattern emerges?

I am so confused!

love to all

bob

Posted 11/16/2009 3:27 PM (GMT -8)
Bob,
My ostomy is new too (late June '09) and I too have output in the a.m. and it is very liquidy and dark kind of reminds me of bile color. I'm not a real early riser but am usually up around 0730 or 0800 and I empty during the night and it is usually watery as well. It seems like "privey" doesn't get real busy until 1030 or 1100 and then she is busy all day and the color and consistency changes and depending on what I have to eat. One day I ate half an apple and "privey" didn't do anything for hours.....I wondered if that was normal. I know that apples are on the BRAT diet but didn't think they would stop up an ileo.

Cathy
Posted 11/16/2009 6:33 PM (GMT -8)
i dont think an apple would stop it up, unless you ate the skin and didnt chew it well. actualy when i eat apples i get this watery mess, lol
Posted 11/16/2009 6:55 PM (GMT -8)
I normally start to see results around 1.5 hours after eating. If I eat after 6:30-7pm I will be up at least twice during the night and then again first thing in the morning. If I eat at 6pm and go to bed at midnight I'm only up once during the night. What I eat doesn't seem to affect this pattern. If I need to speed things up for some reason (wanting to go to bed earlier) a mug of chicken or beef broth does the trick but tea or coffee do not. It's weird.

I'm pretty empty in the morning and if I don't eat breakfast I have very little until I do eat.

I don't think it's unreasonable to see a pattern after seven months so I agree that you're being put off. Maybe your body works different? I'm even newer at this so I can't really say. I've had reliable patterns from the get-go though.
Posted 11/17/2009 7:36 PM (GMT -8)
My output pattern is all over the place too, 13 months post surgery.

I too was advised to change the appliance first thing in the morning, when output would be less. I have found that I have a smoother process of changing if I have an early dinner (5:30-ish), and then change my appliance at 9:30/10:00 pm. Only once or twice in the evening have I had that everlasting cycle of output during a change, for the most part it seems to be a quieter time for my body. My system also seems to be quieter mid-morning. If you have flexibility in your schedule, you might want to play around with changing at different times and see if there is a better option for you.

Hang in there. Wouldn't it be nice if our stomas came with a one-size-fits-all manual? :)
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